As You Sow

ESG Proposals at Mid-Season 2025: Trends, Turbulence & Triumphs As the 2025 proxy season passes its high point, several patterns have emerged in the engagement, filing, and voting outcomes of shareholder proposals. ...

2025 is proving that shareholder engagement on climate, DEI, and political spending haven’t disappeared—they’ve matured. Here's insights at the mid-point of the season published by our own Danielle Fugere in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance

corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2025/06/18/e...

The ugly details of the Big Beautiful Bill's damage to US clean energy competitiveness There is nothing beautiful about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s obstruction of US clean energy progress and American economic competitiveness. Investors in ...

Elon isn’t the only one upset about the big ugly budget bill. Responsible shareholders are sounding the alarm that pulling the plug on these crucial clean energy investments "weakens the innovation that fueled America’s economy." Read the article via @impactalpha.com
impactalpha.com/the-ugly-det...

The ugly details of the Big Beautiful Bill's damage to US clean energy competitiveness There is nothing beautiful about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s obstruction of US clean energy progress and American economic competitiveness. Investors in ...

Obstructing US clean energy progress puts "the US at a competitive disadvantage with geopolitical rivals like China,"
write Danielle Fugere and Diana Myers of the nonprofit shareholder advocacy organization @asyousow.bsky.social.

impactalpha.com/the-ugly-det...

Investing in a Peaceful Future - VIDEO - Ploughshares This video explores how investing and retirement savings finance arms manufacturers and controversial military weapons.

No better way to start the week than by checking if your investments are tied to weapons manufacturers! Grant Bradski explains the basics of ethical investing and @asyousow.bsky.social's Weapons Free Funds tool 💸

Video on our Story Center 📽️
ploughshares.org/article/inve...

This clip gets into ethical investing, where investing can go wrong, and what you can do to check your investment work. @asyousow.bsky.social

Alphabet shareholders ask, can Big Tech scale AI and still meet climate goals? Here’s an eye opening stat: US-located data centers powering AI are predicted to consume up to 12% of the total national electricity supply ...

Everyone’s talking about the planet warming emissions from fossil fuel energy powering massive AI servers at Google and elsewhere. More people need to realize that there will be a increased competitive advantage for Big Tech firms that tackle this challenge head on: impactalpha.com/alphabet-sha...

Deep Sea Mining: A Solution in Search of a Problem — As You Sow A recent U.S. Executive Order promoting deep-sea mining (DSM) threatens to turn a pristine wilderness into yet another industrial sacrifice zone in pursuit of minerals that are available terrestrial...

Deep Seabed Mining is a solution looking for a problem. And while a recent Executive Order threatens to accelerate this destructive new industry, technological advances and circular principles will leave it dead in the water:

www.asyousow.org/blog/2025/5/...

Beverage and Snack Giants Defend Sustainable-Packaging Plans Amid Investor Pressure Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Kraft Heinz, facing criticism from activist investors, say plastic-reduction progress continues

Way to go, @asyousow.bsky.social “PepsiCo and Kraft Heinz both faced calls this week on plastic packaging from shareholder advocacy group, As You Sow.”
www.wsj.com/articles/bev...

From waste to wealth: Turning coal’s toxic legacy into a clean energy future Explore coal ash remediation and its potential to transform toxic waste into opportunities for health and jobs.

Across the US, more than 2,000 coal ash ponds – swamps of waste generated by coal-burning power plants – pose a threat to human health and groundwater.

“Buried within these toxic dumps is a gold mine of opportunities,” writes @asyousow.bsky.social's Andrew Behar.

impactalpha.com/from-waste-t...

From waste to wealth: Turning coal’s toxic legacy into a clean energy future Explore coal ash remediation and its potential to transform toxic waste into opportunities for health and jobs.

Rather than open new fronts of environmental destruction like Deep Sea Mining, we could be extracting rare earth minerals from coal ash waste. Read the latest from our own Andrew Behar on how to feed two birds with one scone on @impactalpha.com.
impactalpha.com/from-waste-t...

Deep-Sea Mining Executive Order Fast-Tracks Destructive Ocean Mining — As You Sow Yesterday’s Executive Order would invest massive U.S. resources to propel deep-sea mining, a costly and destructive mining process that dredges the deep sea floor.

A new Executive Order would invest massive U.S. resources to propel deep-sea mining, a costly and destructive mining process that dredges the deep sea floor. Read our full statement: www.asyousow.org/press-releas...

How Trump’s war on climate and equity is impacting ‘woke investing’ Shifting political and regulatory winds have led to fewer shareholder resolutions on environmental and social issues.

ESG-related shareholder resolutions are down 34% this year as the Trump administration galvanizes the movement against “woke investing,” according to an annual report from @asyousow.bsky.social and Proxy Impact. @gristnews.bsky.social grist.org/business/tru...

💥 BREAKING: Levi Strauss shareholders voted today to reject a proposal calling on the company to cease / abolish all DEI efforts (tally TBD). LEVI Board: “Diversity and inclusion principles are critical in ensuring that our products reflect and are relevant to our diverse global consumer base.”

Proxy Preview 2025: Materiality over politics drives shareholder resilience Explore how ESG shareholders take on proxy votes to support diversity and equity and ESG initiatives at major companies.

Now more than ever, shareholders can reject false narratives, stand firm in our free-market principles, and make good business decisions based on data – not politics. Read the full Publisher's letter for Proxy Preview from our CEO Andrew Behar: impactalpha.com/proxy-previe...

The Humanitarian Impacts and Investment Risks of Conventional Weapons - Ploughshares While conventional weapons may be more targeted than indiscriminate controversial weapons, the humanitarian impacts of their usage have proliferated across the world. But there’s hope for a peaceful f...

"But there’s hope for a peaceful future: we can cut financial ties to militarism and invest in peace and people over war and violence." Check out our latest Story Center post from Grant Bradski at @asyousow.bsky.social to learn more.
loom.ly/Mcb31i0

Proxy Preview 2025: Materiality over politics drives shareholder resilience Explore how ESG shareholders take on proxy votes to support diversity and equity and ESG initiatives at major companies.

Shareholders are prioritizing materiality over fleeting political narratives.

This letter originally appeared in Proxy Preview 2025, a comprehensive annual report on ESG resolutions from
@asyousow.bsky.social and Proxy Impact.

impactalpha.com/proxy-previe...

Register here for the Proxy Preview 2025 Webinar. Get ready for Proxy Preview 2025 — the 20th edition of the insider's guide to environmental, social, and sustainable governance shareholder resolutions is coming to you April 3, 2025. Proxy Previe...

Shareholders have shown incredible resilience in the face of bad faith attacks on our fundamental rights as investors. Join us on Thursday at 1EST as we dig into this unprecedented proxy voting season: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

One point in the DEI debate everyone can agree on Nondiscrimination isn’t just a legal obligation, it’s good for business—and investors and their representatives know it.

No matter where you stand on DEI, there’s one thing we all actually agree on: Merit should be the deciding factor in hiring and promotions. Read our own Andy Behar’s essay in response to over 1,000 comments made on his recent interview on Fortune. fortune.com/2025/03/18/d...

98% of John Deere & Apple Shareholders Reject Anti-Diversity Proposals — As You Sow Today, shareholders of Deere & Co (NYSE:DE) sent a strong signal to the Board and management by voting nearly unanimously against a shareholder proposal from a conservative think-tank looking to u...

Shareholders have spoken: Deere shareholders voted 99% against an anti-DEI resolution, joining Apple and Costco in a “hat trick” of epic fails for activists fighting diversity programs.

www.asyousow.org/press-releas...

How To Comfortably Retire Without Private Prison Investing Private prison investing can mean different things. Investors are often supporting private prison investing without knowing it.

Spoiler alert: yes, you can comfortably retire without investing in high-risk private prisons.
www.forbes.com/sites/jbrewe...

America’s foremost DEI shareholder activist warns that anti-diversity groups are forcing companies to underperform Removing obstacles to women and people of color creates a true meritocracy, and shareholders know that’s good for business, says Andy Behar, CEO of As You Sow.

Shareholder activist warns anti-diversity groups are forcing companies to underperform

“Anyone who's looking at the data, which companies are, comes to the conclusion that greater diversity leads to financial outperformance." Andrew Behar of @asyousow.bsky.social

finance.yahoo.com/news/america...

Say it with us, “anti-diversity groups are forcing companies to underperform.” Anyone who's looking at the data, which companies and shareholders are, concludes that greater diversity leads to financial outperformance.
www.msn.com/en-us/money/...

First Solar bars use of deep-sea minerals, early win for ESG group First Solar agreed to refrain from using minerals mined from the deep sea, an early win for shareholder environmental activists and a sign their agenda might make progress despite opposition from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.

Shareholders continue to make positive gains as First Solar agreed to a withdrawal agreement with As You Sow to exclude controversial minerals derived from Deep Seabed Mining.
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Big read: Investors turn attention to corporate use of carbon offsets Many large companies are relying on carbon credits to meet their net-zero goals. Amid limited transparency, some investors want to know more

Are carbon offsets for corporations a viable solution? As our own Danielle Fugere states, “We want to make sure that we get ahead of the curve and make sure that, if companies are going to use offsets, they are doing it in a meaningful way.” www.responsible-investor.com/big-read-inv...

Shareholder proposals, executive orders are changing the face of DEI With new compliance concerns, mounting shareholder drama and irritated consumers, where does this leave employers in the private-sector landscape?

There’s a lot of misleading information about the benefits of increased diversity in the workforce that seems more concerned with clicks and group think, but Carline Colvin does an excellent job in this piece for HR Dive. www.hrdive.com/news/trump-d...

University Retirement Plans are Funding the Destruction of their Students’ Future | Fossil Free Funds | Blog Billions of dollars in university employee retirement savings are invested in companies with significant environmental and social risks

Most faculty and staff at universities want a better future for their students, but what happens when their own retirement savings work against that vision? Today, a new analysis from As You Sow exposed $1 billion invested in planet warming fossil fuels:
fossilfreefunds.org/blog/2025/02...

The Avocado Industry’s Turning Point — As You Sow "Can corporate accountability save Mexico’s forests? See how the avocado industry is addressing deforestation through ethical and sustainable practices."

#GuacamoleDip may be the star of your #SuperBowl party, but its journey to your celebration has a darker story. Here’s why you should contact your local supermarket today to make sure their #avocados are #deforestation free! #Chiefs #Eagles www.asyousow.org/blog/avocado...

You Might be Invested in Military Weapon Manufacturers - Ploughshares What if I told you your hard-earned retirement savings are likely invested in companies that manufacture weapons of war?

What if we told you your hard-earned retirement savings are likely invested in companies that manufacture weapons of war? Check out this article by our own Grant Bradski
to learn how to see where you are investing. loom.ly/sitWsKE

JPMorgan, Goldman CEOs Resist Calls to Roll Back DEI Programs JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are pushing back on demands to roll back their diversity initiatives.

Whatever politicians shout about #DEI, you won’t find a corporate executive (who isn’t a celebrity billionaire courting power) that doesn’t support employee diversity. As @JPMorganAM's Jamie Dimon recently said about DEI attacks: “Bring them on”
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...